By the time their Mom came to grudgingly get them for Sirius' impromptu Order meeting, Ginny, Ron, Fred and George, alongside Hermione, had already made their way up the stairs, into their rooms and back out, to listen by the stairs with Fred and George's ears. She glared at them upon noticing that they had been eavesdropping, but none of them looked too chastised by it, causing her to scowl even more than before.
With a look over to the twins, Ron let out a grin, happy that they could partake in a meeting for once, even if it was mainly about the abuse Harry had to suffer. And that was the main reason why Ron was happy, for one. When his brothers and himself had tried to tell their Mom about the abuse Harry was being put through at the hands of the Dursley's - bars on windows, locked doors, cat flap in the door—she had just shaken her head and blatantly ignored it, saying that they probably saw wrong. Ron couldn't understand, neither could his brothers, how their mother could ignore something like that, especially with something they saw with their own eyes. Especially once you saw how skinny and haggard Harry ended up looking after a summer with those bastards.
And those were the only things Ron and his brothers saw. After-all, who knew what Harry wouldn't tell them. Sure, they could guess based off his interactions and reactions to certain things but – well, they wouldn't guess, knowing Harry needed his privacy.
When the group finally made it to the kitchen and dining area, Ron wasn't at all surprised to see Harry sitting closely next to Sirius, slightly wrapped in Sirius' arms. The two had gotten closer over the summer, surprisingly enough, and Ron knew through letters that Harry thought of Sirius as another father, and he grinned at the look of happiness on his best friends face.
Looking around the room, he took stock of who was sitting at the table. Next to him, on his right, was Hermione. She was sitting next to Harry, then Sirius and Remus. Tonks was next to Remus—explains the blush—and also Kingsley, who was beside Mad-Eye. Mad-Eye was next to Snape, who was next to Professor McGonagall with a sneer, no surprise there. Then there was Dumbledore, causing Ron to unconsciously frown at the older man, wondering if Dumbledore was as manipulative as Harry and he talked about. Next to Dumbledore was his Mom, causing a deeper frown, then Bill, his Dad, Charlie, Ginny and the twins.
The room was quiet, everyone looking towards Sirius, waiting for the older man to begin whatever it was he wanted to talk about. Ron had to physically stop himself from bouncing his leg up and down in excitement, wondering just how this meeting would change everything, and hoping it would be for the better. After what seemed like hours, but was only seconds, Sirius finally spoke.
"With a raise of your hands, how many people in this room suspected that Harry was being abused?" His question rings through the room, echoing in the quietness of the hall outside, as people began to raise their hand. Ron, Fred, George. Tonks, Mad-Eye, Kingsley. Remus. Minerva. Sirius. His dad. He can't help but open his mouth in surprise when Hermione doesn't raise her hand. As one of Harry's best friends, and someone that is clearly intelligent, it's shocking that Hermione couldn't see the signs of Harry being unhappy with his family. Either that or, his mom has something to do with it.
With that thought, Ron turns towards his mom, whose hand is also down. That's not a surprise to him, since his mother has been burying her head in the sand for so long—so long that he can't help but wonder if she's doing that on purpose. Snape and Dumbledore are also no surprise, and the thought angers him, realizing that Dumbledore probably knew.
Yeah, he and Harry would have to talk even more now than before.
"Now, with a raise of your hands, how many of you knew Harry was being abused?" Sirius questions while staring deeply at everyone which causes some people to shift uncomfortably. Surprisingly, Hermione is the first one to put up her hand, causing Ron and the twins to put up theirs, realizing that time was ticking. Ron notices Sirius nod his head briefly, and he puts his hand back down, staring at Hermione in confusion.
"What?" She shrugs, "He blatantly told me one night. And you guys saw it in your second year, so." She finishes, trailing off on that thought, biting her lip.
"Right, so, you three saw the abuse?" Sirius questions, turning to the Ron and his brothers as Ron nods his head.
"Yeah, it was during the summer going into second year. Harry hadn't been returning any of our letters, so the three of us snuck out in our Dad's flying ford angela," Ron begins as Fred interrupts.
"When we got to his place, his windows were boarded up with a cage, like a jail-cell window,"
"And when we entered his room, we saw a cat-flap on the bottom of his door," George states.
"And the twins had to unlock the door using muggle means when Harry mentioned they locked him in his room from the outside," Ron finishes with a nod of his head, cringing slightly when Harry flinches back at Sirius arching an eyebrow at him.
"We never saw any physical abuse though," Fred sighs with a frown, "Though we do believe there was some." He finishes. Sirius nods in understanding, smiling briefly.
"I assume, of course, you told your parents what you saw when you came home?" He says with a smirk as Ron grins and his brothers chuckle.
"Of course. We told our Ma straight 'ways, we did," George grins.
"She just didn't believe us, though. Told us not to be foolish or something," Fred smirks as Sirius chuckles. Ron watches as the other man turns back to his mother, and can't help but grin at what might happen. He suddenly has a very good idea over what's going to go on, and gets comfortable in his seat, grinning at the prospect of seeing his Mom being chewed out for her ignorance on his best friends behalf.
Harry stared at his god-father in confusion, wondering what Sirius' brilliant plan that could change their lives was. He didn't understand what was so important about learning more about what his aunt and uncle did to him. It's not like he didn't deserve it, or anything, because he did. He was a hindrance on them, someone that cost them money. He understood that.
As Ron talks about him being locked in his room, he flinches lightly, knowing Sirius is going to want to talk to him, before cuddling into his god-fathers side briefly, wanting the comfort. He's beginning to become tired, wanting to take a nap, when he feels Sirius move his body towards Molly, causing him to tense.
He's always trusted Mrs. Weasley, up until she began her tirade of making sure Sirius knew just how bad a parent she thought he was. Now, after having examined everything as of late, he can't help but wonder if Mrs. Weasley wants him in her family, and was willing to do everything she could think of for it to happen.
And Ron, his best friend – well, the two of them talked. It was inevitable, what with the fact that they were teenage boys who were sharing a room. Harry couldn't help himself but talk to Ron about things that were on his mind. Like if Dumbledore knew what he faced at the Dursley's. Or why Dumbledore didn't give him any therapy after seeing Cedric die. Hell, according to Ron, not even Ginny was provided with therapy after her first year. And clearly, Sirius wasn't receiving any help, having been locked in a place just as bad as Azkaban.
He let out a sigh, missing most of the conversation, before blinking slightly, realizing everyone was looking at him, expecting something.
"Err—what?" He questions, a red tinge coming through to his cheeks, causing Sirius to smirk.
"I asked if you would be comfortable showing your bruises to everyone," Sirius whispers, leaning in close to Harry as he bites his lip in thought. He hadn't even been comfortable talking to Sirius about it, until Sirius had mentioned his own abuse years prior.
After thinking about it for a minute or two, he shakes his head, eyes wide with fear as Sirius nods in understanding, a small smile gracing his lips.
"Like I was saying, you're going to have to take my word for it, Albus," Sirius sneers, and Harry watches in fascination as Dumbledore's whole body tenses and the magic in the room gets tight. He almost feels like he can't breathe, but suddenly, Sirius' hand is on his shoulder, and the magic isn't nearly as tight and plates are clattering to the counters and table, some shattering upon impact.
"He probably already knew, anyways," Harry scoffs, eyes widening in surprise and embarrassment as many people turn to look at him. The blush comes back at full force as Sirius turns to him completely, a frown on his face, causing Harry to shift uncomfortably, wondering what he did wrong.
"What do you mean, Harry?" Sirius' face is, pardon the pun, serious, and his eyes are narrowed, going from Harry to Dumbledore, and Harry looks down. He doesn't plan on doing anything, even answering, but when Sirius tilts his head up by hooking his finger underneath his chin, he lets out a sigh, shrugging slightly.
"Well, Mrs. Figg was watching me right? For Professor Dumbledore, I mean," Harry mumbles as Sirius nods.
"And I used to visit her, back when the abuse was plenty. Like, before they 'ver found out I was a wizard, and they thought they could get away with it," Harry sighs as Sirius nods once more, realization dawning on his, and others, faces.
"Well, surely she would've been tellin' him how I was. So, wouldn't she have brought up my abuse?" He questions with a yawn as Sirius nods once more.
"Fall asleep, pup," He whispers, kissing the top of his god-son's head and laying it down in his lap after conjuring a blanket and some cushions.
Upon making sure that his god-son is completely asleep—though knowing he's not so asleep that he won't be able to hear what's going on currently—Sirius looks up towards Dumbledore and snarls.
"What exactly are you two getting at, Albus? From knowing about the abuse to ignoring the abuse? From wanting to keep Harry in the dark to saying he has nothing to do with the upcoming war? Are you trying to get my god-son killed?" Sirius finishes, eyes flashing in anger.
The room is shocked though, when all Dumbledore does is look down and clench his fists before looking back up with purple eyes.
"He has a specific plan, Sirius."
"Not specific enough for me," Sirius snarls, wand sparking, "So how about you start explaining your bullshit, Albus, or I'm going to the bloody fucking goblins." He finishes.
Author's Note: Well, here's the first chapter to The Right Friends. The story will be short. I'm aiming for five chapters or so, not sure how many words. It might even become a trilogy, but I'm still unsure. I hope you enjoyed it. There'll be more to come